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Samsung Galaxy Z Flip commercial aired during the Oscars, confirms design and Launch Date

By
Anvinraj Valiyathara
-

Samsung ran a commercial for the upcoming clamshell Galaxy Z Flip with foldable screen at the Oscars, ahead of launch. This comes as a surprise since the chaebol was expected to formally unveil the smartphone at the Unpacked 2020 event on Feb. 11. 

Samsung is expected to announce its Galaxy S20 lineup at the event along with the Z Flip, which is the highlight of the event. The Galaxy Z Flip is Samsung’s first folding smartphone with a glass display. In the commercial, the device was spotted resting vertically folded to aid video chatting. As it can be seen in the video, the Galaxy Z Flip does not fold completely flat. 

The fine print below the commercial reads “There may be a small crease in the middle of the primary display, which is a general characteristic of the screen”. The advert discloses two color variants, namely purple and black. Unlike the Motorola Razr, the small-sized secondary display flaunts full colors, but cannot be used to control every function on the device. It can only be used to view notifications and answer or reject calls.

Initial reports suggested that the Galaxy Z Flip would be primarily targeted towards the young female audience, and the commercial seems to back up the theory. Especially since the handset is rumored to draw inspiration from the clamshell-shaped powder compact case. While the commercial did not reveal much about the general specifications or price, it clearly mentions that the handset will be formally showcased at Unpacked 2020 on 02.11.2020.

Samsung has historically made huge revelations through commercials aired during the Academy Awards. Previous examples include celebrity product endorsements to issuing a public apology for the exploding Galaxy Note devices. The company has taken the traditional route this year, simply teasing a flagship product ahead of launch.

Editor’s Pick: Smartphone retailers in India decide to boycott Samsung devices

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip Specifications and Features (Rumored)

According to current reports, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip flaunts a 6.7-inch flexible AMOLED display with a punch-hole camera and a tall aspect ratio of 22:9 The smartphone draws power from a 2.96GHz octa-core Snapdragon 855+ SoC with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of native storage. The primary optics include a dual-camera setup consisting of two 12-megapixel sensors. The front camera uses a 10-megapixel unit.

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip draws power from a 3,300 mAh battery and runs on Android 10 with One UI 2.0. Connectivity options include 4G, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi 802.11ac, GPS, and USB-C. The smartphone flaunts a side-mounted fingerprint scanner for additional security.

UP NEXT: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip gets a special cavier Joker & Harley Quinn edition even before launch

 

 

Xiaomi Employees get Coronavirus protection kit as they Return to Work

By
Vinay Patel
-

Xiaomi employees finally resumed work today after spending extended holidays back home due to the coronavirus crisis. As a safety measure, all employees have been allotted masks and sanitizers for protection against coronavirus.

Xiaomi Office

Xiaomi is one of the few tech firms that resumed work today i.e. February 10th. Xiaomi Product Director Wang Teng announced the company’s decision to provide a coronavirus protection “three-piece bundle” to each employee.

In his Weibo post, Mr. Teng revealed Xiaomi employees were given three things including a couple of medical masks, alcohol disinfection spray, and a sanitizer.

Editor’s Pick: Xiaomi Mi 10 poster reveals marvelous curved display and four rear cameras

Redmi‘s General Manager Lu Weibing also advised people to focus on safety via a Weibo post that read: “Everyone, are you back to work today? Be sure to pay attention to protection to ensure safety.”

Responding to the call, Xiaomi’s co-founder Lei Jun wrote, “We all use medical protective masks. Do you know these people?” Mentioning the topic, he requested #Please leave the medical N95 mask to the first line of medical care #.

The latest reports suggest shipment of masks that were purchased online has started since domestic mask production capacity has been restored. Moreover, some other reports suggest that the resumption rate of companies making these masks has reached 73 percent.

UP NEXT: Xiaomi Mi 10 & Mi 10 Pro official posters, retail boxes & likely prices leaked

 

 

(Source)

Smartphone retailers in India decide to boycott Samsung devices

By
Jeet
-

UPDATE: Samsung has officially withdrawn Amazon Pay cashback promotion in offline retail stores following a letter sent by the All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA). The company was offering 5 percent and ₹1,500 cashback offers, depending on the phone models, when paid through Amazon Pay.

Samsung, the world’s leading smartphone maker and the second largest vendor in India, has receiving flak from the mobile retailers in India. Retail store owners of India have decided to boycott the sale of Samsung devices in the country for three days — 11th, 12th, and 13th February.

Arvinder Khurana, President of AIMRA, said: “We will be showing our protest through digital posts, covering Samsung branding with a black cloth on in our stores, and not doing business with Samsung distributors for three days.”

He also added that despite several communications sent to country heads of Samsung in the last five years, “they have not had the time to meet AIMRA leaders” and have neither acknowledged nor replied to emails sent by the offline retailer community.

EDITOR’S PICK: Realme X50 Pro 5G flagship smartphone confirmed to be unveiled at MWC 2020 on February 24th

This development comes at AIMRA along with other trader associations have been campaigning to end exclusive deals between phone brands and e-commerce platforms, deep discounting and cashback offers.

While several smartphone makers including Vivo, Realme, and OPPO have assured their retail partners that they will simultaneously launch products as well as their variants at the same price across channels, Samsung hasn’t responded yet.

According to the data released by International Data Corporation (IDC), Samsung is currently the second largest smartphone brand in India after Xiaomi, accounting for 20.3 percent market share. Out of the total sales of Samsung in India, offline channel constituted for about 12-15 percent in 2019.

UP NEXT: Huawei smartphones could feature up to 70 pre-installed apps to substitute Google Services

 

Xiaomi Mi 10 reservations cross 1.5 million; Mi 10, Mi 10 Pro to receive stupendous response

By
Anvinraj Valiyathara
-

Since the past two days, the Xiaomi Mi 10 series is up for reservations in China through Xiaomi Mall and JD.com. The company is running the reservations of the smartphone ahead of the Feb. 13 online-only launch event in China. Reservations are different from pre-orders that allow buyers to have a chance of ordering the device before the market release date. People in China who are interested in the Mi 10 series can register their name and phone number to get updates on the availability of the Mi 10 phones. A screenshot of the Mi 10 reservations reveal that the series will meet an impressive response from the people in the home market. The reason behind it is that the Mi 10 series reservations have crossed 1.5 million mark three days ahead of the launch event.

The Xiaomi Mi 10 series is expected to include two smartphones such as Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro. Some reports have claimed that there could be Xiaomi Mi 10 Explorer Edition that may sport a transparent rear. The first official poster of the Mi 10 series reveal that the Mi 10 will be equipped with a curved display with a single punch-hole at its top-left corner. The advanced Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro will be also sporting a similar display.

Xiaomi Mi 10 reservations onJD.com

Editor’s Pick: Xiaomi to Launch a flagship Wi-Fi 6 Router alongside the Mi 10 series

The rear design of the Xiaomi Mi 10 looks like the Mi Note 10 series.  The Mi 10 has a quad camera setup whereas the Mi 10 Pro may come with five rear cameras. The Snapdragon 865 mobile platform will be fueling both phones. The Mi 10 series will come with may many advance features like 108-megapixel main camera, LPDDR5 RAM, UFS 3.0 storage and Wi-Fi 6. Some of the other features that will be available on the Mi 10 series include 90Hz refresh rate supporting OLED display, in-screen fingerprint reader, liquid cooling technology and up to 66W fast charging.

A pricing leak revealed that the Xiaomi Mi 10’s base model with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage could be priced at 4,200 Yuan (~$600). There is a possibility that the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro could be costing 5,000+ Yuan (~$715). Customers who are looking forward for a cheaper flagship phone from Xiaomi can wait for the Redmi K30 Pro 5G that will probably break cover next month. The Redmi K30 Pro 5G could be priced around 3,500 Yuan (~$500).

UP NEXT: Download Xiaomi Mi Flash Tool (All Versions)

 

 

 

 

Realme X50 Pro 5G confirmed to be unveiled at MWC 2020 on Feb 24

By
Jeet
-

After teasing that Realme will announce its 5G flagship smartphone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, the company has today confirmed that the Realme X50 Pro 5G flagship will be launched on 24th February.

The teaser image shared with the invite shows that the smartphone will come with a dual punch-hole cut-out for the front-facing camera and it also seems that the display will be curved towards the edges.

Realme X50 Pro 5G

The company’s CMO Xu Qi Chase had recently confirmed that the Realme X50 Pro 5G will come with model number RMX2071 will be powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 with up to 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB UFS 3.0 storage. It will also come packed with the Snapdragon X55 chip for 5G network connectivity.

It has also been revealed that the phone will be running Android 10 operating system out-of-the-box with the company’s own Realme UI on top. The phone was also recently spotted on AnTuTu Benchmark, revealing scores of 574,985.

EDITOR’S PICK: Huawei smartphones could feature up to 70 pre-installed apps to substitute Google Services

Leaked details related to this upcoming smartphone reveals that it will come with Full HD+ display having screen resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels and 20:9 aspect ratio as well as 120Hz refresh rate. While the battery capacity is not yet known, the device is expected to come with 50W fast charging support.

Apart from this X50 Pro 5G flagship smartphone, the company has also confirmed that it will also have an announcement at MWC about its first smart TV. We are not sure it will unveil the TV at the event as MWC isn’t really the place for TVs. What we expect we will get are more details about the TV and its eventual release date.

The Realme X50 Pro 5G launch at MWC later this month is scheduled for February 24th at 10 AM CEST. We expect to know more details about the flagship smartphone as the launch date nears.

UP NEXT: Chinese giants like Xiaomi, OPPO, & Vivo form an Alliance to take on Google’s Play Store

 

Xiaomi Mi 10 poster reveals marvelous curved display and four rear cameras

By
Anvinraj Valiyathara
-

Xiaomi will be holding a global launch event for the Xiaomi Mi 10 series on Feb. 23 at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2020. The Chinese firm will also organize a dedicated online launch conference for the Xiaomi Mi 10 series in China on Feb. 13. Ahead of the unveil event, the Chinese firm is busy teasing on the features of the Xiaomi Mi 10 series. Today, the company released the first official poser that confirms the design of Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro smartphones.

As it can be seen, the Xiaomi Mi 10 can be see sporting a marvelous curved display. The screen has a punch-hole at its top-left corner. The display is surrounded by ultra-thin bezels. The thin bezel above the screen has an earpiece. The phone will come equipped with an in-screen fingerprint reader. Xiaomi is yet to confirm the screen size of the Xiaomi MI 10 series.

The back panel of the phone which is made out of glass also has a curvy appeal towards the edges. The camera setup includes four lenses. Its primary shooter is 108-megapixel Samsung ISOCELL Bright HMX lens. Xiaomi Group China President who is also General Manager of Redmi brand has claimed that the DxOMark score of Xiaomi Mi 10 will be a surprise. The Xiaomi MI 10 Pro that is expected to feature an additional camera is not present in the above image.

Editor’s Pick: Xiaomi Youpin launched a Disposable Raincoat for 29.9 Yuan ($4.3)

Xiaomi Group Vice President Chang Cheng stated that the three main issues of the Android phones are automatic brightness adjustment, screen fluency and overheating. It appears that the Xiaomi Mi 10 series won’t be plagued with such problems. The Xiaomi Mi 10 and Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro will be arriving with a topnotch display that offers 90Hz refresh rate and it is also coming with some latest technologies such as Snapdragon 865 mobile platform, LPDDR5 RAM, UFS 3.0 storage and liquid cooling technologies that may ensure that there are no overheating issues on Mi 10 devices.

Xiaomi has started with the reservations of the Xiaomi Mi 10 series on major platforms such as Xiaomi Mall and Jingdong Mall in China. It has been found that the reservations of the Mi 10 series have already crossed 1.5 million mark.

A recent leak had revealed that the Xiaomi Mi 10 will be arriving in models such as 8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage, 8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage and 12 GB RAM + 256 GB storage. These models could be respectively priced at 4,200 Yuan (~$600), 4,500 Yuan (~$644) and 4,900 Yuan (~$701). The leak did not reveal the pricing of the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro. If the above leak turns out to be true, the pricing of the Mi 10 Pro may breach 5,000 Yuan (~$715) mark.

UP NEXT: Xiaomi to Launch a flagship Wi-Fi 6 Router alongside the Mi 10 series

 

 

 

Microsoft Surface Duo spotted publicly; could launch sooner than expected

By
Jeet
-

Microsoft recently unveiled some of the unique and interesting devices which are expected to get launched during Holiday 2020. However, now it seems that few of the devices could go official sooner than expected.

The company’s much-anticipated device — Microsoft Surface Duo was recently spotted in the wild as the device has apparently entered the testing phase. However, this has not been confirmed by the company yet.

Microsoft Surface Duo

A photo has surfaced online which shows a man using the upcoming Surface Duo out in Vancouver’s public transit system. Interestingly, the tweet reveals that the Surface Duo in question is different from the prototypes Microsoft showcased at its hardware event in October 2019.

The device in the leaked image has a front-facing flash, which seems to confirm rumors that the Microsoft Surface Duo will only have a front-facing camera module, and not a world-facing camera.

It is also being reported that Microsoft has seeded more Surface Duo units to its employees internally, possibly to test the usage of the smartphone in the public and day-to-day activities. Some of the company’s employees were also seen using Surface Duo device during Ignite 2019 sessions.

EDITOR’S PICK: Data shows Chinese now spend more time watching TV due to the Coronavirus outbreak

The prototype showcased in October 2019 shows that the Surface Duo has two 5.6-inch displays connected by 360-degree hinges allowing it to transform into an 8.3-inch tablet when opened.

It runs Android which makes sense given that Google already developed Android to work with dual-screen devices. You can run two apps on each of the screens for true multi-tasking. You can also have one display act as a virtual controller for games or a virtual keyboard for typing.

There’s Snapdragon 855 processor inside but we doubt this will be the SoC powering it when it launches by the end of 2020. There are no cameras on the back just like the Duo and there is no mention of a camera(s) above the displays.

UP NEXT: Nubia All Set to Launch the Red Magic 5G smartphone at MWC 2020 featuring 144Hz refresh rate

(Source)

Is this our first look at the ASUS Zenfone 7?

By
Habeeb Onawole
-

ASUS has kept a tight lip on news relating to any of its upcoming smartphones this year. It has also not made any announcement regarding Mobile World Congress 2020. Nevertheless, we expect a successor to last year’s Zenfone 6, and a leaked image may be our first look at the phone which is expected to launch as the Zenfone 7.

The photo was posted on the official ASUS ZenTalk Forum and it shows the device, believed to be the Zenfone 7, with a square camera module similar to that of the Pixel 4. However, unlike Google’s phone, the camera housing sist in the middle and it houses three rear cameras arranged in a matrix along with an LED flash.

Alleged ASUS Zenfone 7

Based on the image, we can see ASUS will not be bringing back the flip camera design of the Zenfone 6.

The camera housing protrudes a bit from the curved back which appears to be covered in glass. There is no fingerprint scanner visible in the image, so we presume there will be one under the display. The Zenfone 7 is expected to have support for wireless charging since the Wireless Power Consortium already certified an ASUS wireless charger last October.

The image is far from being the sharpest but we can still make out some of the details on the front of the phone. The display does not appear to be curved though it has rounded corners. There is also a pill-shaped punch hole at the top left corner for dual front-facing cameras.

The image also shows the phone will have its power button and volume control buttons on the right but the Smart Key from the Zenfone 6 seems to be gone.

The Zenfone 7 is expected to be powered by a Snapdragon 865 processor and should have a 5G modem too. When it launches, it should be ASUS’s first 5G smartphone. Since its predecessor was announced in May, ASUS may want to stick to that timeframe again this year.

UP NEXT: ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M1 and Zenfone Max Pro M2 get Android 10 beta

 

(Via: 1, 2)

Honor 9X Lite poster surfaces; will have 48MP dual rear cameras

By
Habeeb Onawole
-

Honor launched the Honor 9X and Honor 9X Pro in China last July. Both are powered by the Kirin 810 processor and are Honor’s mid-range phones. Now, the Huawei sub-brand is ready to release a third model that will launch as the Honor 9X Lite.

The poster for the Honor 9X Lite surfaced on the web last weekend and the image revealed the design as well as some key specs of the device.

Honor 9X Lite

The Honor 9X Lite will come in green and will have dual rear cameras placed inside a rectangular housing. The poster says the primary camera is a 48MP sensor and the words “48MP AI CAMERA” are inscribed next to the sensors. The second camera is unknown but we expect it to be a depth sensor just like that of the standard Honor 9X. Honor is marketing the Honor 9X Lite as the “XTRAORDINARY PHOTOGRAPHER” but only reviews will tell us if the cameras are truly “xtraordinary”.

The poster also shows the phone will have a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner while the volume rocker and power button will reside on the right side of the phone’s frame.

Honor 9X Lite Google Play Supported Devices

The Honor 9X Lite has also received Google Play certification and appears on the list of Google Play certified devices. The page reveals three different model numbers for the device (JSN-L21, JSN-L22, JSN-L23). Seeing as it has Google Play Certification, it is believed the Honor 9X Lite will have a Kirin 710/Kirin 710F processor like its other mid-range devices released since the ban took effect.

Huawei/Honor is yet to get the Kirin 810 processor certified, hence why its mid-range devices launching outside China are powered by the Kirin 710 or Kirin 710F rather than the more powerful Kirin 810.

There is no news yet regarding a launch date for the phone but a launch should be around the corner.

UP NEXT: Honor’s first smartphone launch conference of 2020 will be held online

 

 

(Sources: 1, 2 | Via)

Xiaomi Mi 10 & Mi 10 Pro official posters, retail boxes & likely prices leaked

By
Jed John Ikoba
-

Just about the same time when Xiaomi released the information that the Mi 10 series will go official on February 13 in China, a couple of official posters of the models have leaked online. The posters appeared on China’s Weibo and give us a close look at the design of the Mi 10 and Mi 10 Pro.

The leaked images clearly distinguish the Mi 10 from the Mi 10 Pro. From the look of things, both models will have the same display type which is a curved OLED screen. The display features a punch-hole camera at the top left corner. At the rear aspect, the Mi 10’s camera setup includes three lenses arranged in a single module and a fourth sensor placed underneath. There is also an LED flash at the bottom of the fourth sensor.XIaomi Mi 10 Pro

EDITOR’S PICK: Xiaomi’s Aqara officially unveils its range of smart home products in the US

On the other hand, the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro features an additional sensor between the second and third lenses. As past reports have revealed, the Mi 10 series will be equipped with a 108-megapixel main lens as well as other camera features like 8K videography and 50x hybrid zoom.

The other specifications of that are expected to be available on the Mi 10 series include LPPDR5 RAM, UFS 3.0 flash storage and Wi-Fi 6. The Mi 10 Pro may support 66W fast charging whereas the Mi 10 may arrive with 30W rapid charger. The base model of the Mi 10 could be coming with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage.

Furthermore, the expected prices of the Mi 10 were also leaked online. The leaked poster shows the Mi 10 will start at 4200 yuan ($599) for the base variant with 8GB RAM/128GB storage.  The 8GB RAM/256GB storage variant goes up to 4500 yuan ($642). Finally, the topmost variant with 12GB RAM/256GB storage will be sold for 4900 yuan ($699). We doubt if these leaked prices are accurate. If the Mi 10 should cost this much, then the Mi 10 Pro which should have a higher price tag may max at around $800. We’ll have to wait until the models are officially unveiled to find out the actual prices.

UP NEXT: Poll of The Week: Flat Edge Display or Curved Edge Display?

 

(source 1, 2, 3)

 

Leak reveals LG V60 ThinQ will have a 5000mAh battery, audio jack, and more

By
Habeeb Onawole
-

Since the news about LG Mobile pulling out of this year’s edition of Mobile World Congress, it is unknown when it plans to announce its flagship. Nevertheless, some features of the upcoming LG V60 flagship have surfaced thanks to a leak from Evan Blass.

According to a tweet posted by the famed leaked, the images below are stills from a promotional video of the “LG Time” a.k.a. LG V60 ThinQ.

LG V60 ThinQ

The first image shows the LG V60 has a four-channel microphone system. There is one at the bottom which is the primary mic while another is positioned at the top for noise-cancelation. Two more microphones are positioned near the rear cameras. However, it appears all four microphones will be able to capture audio when recording.

LG has marketed the V-series as a phone great for making cinematic videos and with four microphones on the V60 ThinQ, this should enhance the audio for video recordings.

Thankfully, the image is see-through and allows us to see some of the phone’s other specs. In addition to the four rear cameras, the LG V60 ThinQ has four rear cameras arranged horizontally. It also has a single front-facing camera that is positioned in the middle and will be housed in a notch.

The image also shows the phone will pack a massive 5000mAh battery. This is a significant bump from the 4000mAh battery of the LG V50S ThinQ. We hope LG ships it with support for a faster-charging technology.

The image also shows the LG V60 ThinQ will have an audio jack at the bottom. This makes LG practically the only big-name brand still keeping the audio jack on its flagship phones.

The second image gives us a better look at the audio jack and also highlights the battery capacity. We can also see the phone has a speaker grille flanking the USB Type-C port on one side.

LG V60 ThinQ

There are rumors LG will kill its G-series of smartphones. The unconfirmed reports have also said that it will launch a new series and keep the V-series. However, there is no release date yet for any new LG flagship at the moment since it canceled its MWC attendance.

UP NEXT: LG lost over $850 million through its Mobile Division as sales fall in 2019

 

(Source)

Poll of The Week: Flat Edge Display or Curved Edge Display?

By
Habeeb Onawole
-

Most smartphones have a flat edge display but more phones are launching with a curved edge display, at least in the premium segment. The curved edge display trend can be said to have been made popular by Samsung. The Korean giant’s Galaxy Note Edge is the first smartphone with a curved edge display.

Poll of The Week - Flat Edge Display vs Curved Edge Display

This year, more manufacturers including Xiaomi will join the curved edge display train. The Mi 10 series will have a curved edge screen unlike their predecessor, the Mi 9 which has a flat edge display. The upcoming OnePlus 8 series will also have a curved edge display, a continuation of the trend OnePlus joined last year with the OnePlus 7 Pro and OnePlus 7T Pro.

A curved edge display greatly enhances the aesthetics of a smartphone. Some manufacturers have even included custom gestures and features that work with curved edge screens. However, not everyone likes curved edge screens. First, they are more prone to breaking when they drop. They also cost more to repair. Another disadvantage is that a lot of manufacturers do not add any special features to their phones that take advantage of the curved edges. Despite all of the above-mentioned flaws, curved displays are here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future.

For today’s poll, we want to know which type of display you prefer. So do take the poll and also post a comment telling us why you prefer one over the other.

[yop_poll id=24]
UP NEXT: Samsung patents a futuristic Galaxy smartphone with 3 Displays and a Round Notch

 

Data shows Chinese now spend more time watching TV due to the Coronavirus outbreak

By
Jed John Ikoba
-

TV viewership in China during the Spring festival this year rose to an all-time high as a result of the restrictions and extended holidays. More persons spent time in front of smart TVs and mobile phones away from the traditional holiday settings.

Data obtained from Aowei Cloud shows that the overall smart TV boot rate during the Spring Festival increased by 11% compared with normal times. There was no decline during the three-day extended holidays. Affected by the epidemic, the daily activity of first-tier cities this year has decreased, and Spring Festival migration has driven the growth of cities below the third-tier. Compared with last year’s Spring Festival, over 70% of the those who cumulatively switched on their smart TVs did so for more than five days. Also, the proportion of cumulative start-ups for 10 days reached 43%.

EDITOR’S PICK: Xiaomi’s Aqara officially unveils its range of smart home products in the US

Some of the reasons adduced for the change in TV viewing trend includes

1. After the prolonged holiday policy was introduced, suddenly, many families did not have a clear plan to arrange activities during this time, and rich smart TV entertainment became the best solution to supplement the blank plan.

2. Due to travel restrictions, family activities are centred on television, which is more suitable for multiple people to live together and share the family.

In addition, smart TVs shoulder media responsibilities in special periods, with media coverage reaching urban and rural areas.

Smart TV boot rate have declined in first-tier cities before now but the decline was significantly reduced compared with the same period last year. The “sit-at-home holiday” made smart TVs an important medium for family members to obtain information, and the start-up rate in each city has increased significantly.

In the traditional 7-day holiday, the proportion of households that have turned on their TV continuously for 7 days is higher than 12.4% in the same period last year. Waking up and turning on the TV every day has become the holiday habit of nearly half of families.

This habit was still maintained during the extended 3-day holiday, with the proportion of the families that have turned on their TV continuously for 10 days reaching 43%.

From this data, we can understand that the necessity of smart TVs for families, combined with the integration of information, audio and video entertainment, greatly met the recreational needs of users during the “sit-at-home holiday”. Smart TVs still continue to play a significant role as China is still battling the epidemic after the Spring Festival and thus, there are still restrictions in social activities that create a fertile ground for person-to-person transmission of the Coronavirus.

UP NEXT: First Samples from the 108MP Mi Mix Alpha is here & we are not impressed!

 

(via)

 

Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro with 8GB RAM pops up on GeekBench

By
Jed John Ikoba
-

Xiaomi just officially revealed that the Mi 10 5G will be launched in China via an online-only event that would hold on February 13. The Mi 10 is expected to be accompanied by the Mi 10 Pro but there are rumours that there won’t be a transparent edition this year. Ahead of its unveiling, the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro has been spotted on GeekBench database.

The model was uploaded recently and shows the device will have an 8GB RAM variant which would likely by on the base variant. The device is also expected to run Android 10 from outset but that should have an MIUI 11 overlay. The processor name wasn’t given but the device will definitely be powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 chipset just like the Mi 10 5G.

In terms of the design, leaked images have shown that the Mi 10 Pro will feature a curved display that has a punch-hole at the upper-left corner. The display of the phone is surrounded by ultra-slim bezels and possibly an in-display fingerprint sensor.XIaomi Mi 10 Pro

The other specifications of that are expected to be available on the Mi 10 series include LPPDR5 RAM and Wi-Fi 6. The Mi 10 Pro may support 66W fast charging whereas the Mi 10 may arrive with 30W rapid charger.

UP NEXT: First Samples from the 108MP Mi Mix Alpha is here & we are not impressed!

 

 

(source)

 

Moto G8 Power vs Oppo A9 2020 vs Realme XT: Specs Comparison

By
Michele Ingelido
-

Motorola decided not to wait for Mobile World Congress to launch its new affordable smartphones: Moto G8 Power and G Stylus. The former is a very interesting battery phone and it even debuted in the global market with an interesting price tag. But it has a lot of rivals: two of the most awesome in terms of value for money are Oppo A9 2020 and Realme XT.

Is the Moto G8 Power the best choice for people seeking a large battery phone with high performance or there is something better with a similar budget? This specs comparison between Moto G8 Power, Oppo A9 2020 and Realme XT will help you find out.

Motorola Moto G8 Power vs Oppo A9 2020 vs Oppo Realme XT

Motorola Moto G8 Power Oppo A9 2020 Oppo Realme XT
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT 156 x 75.8 x 9.6 mm, 197 grams 163.6 x 75.6 x 9.1 mm, 195 grams 158.7 x 75.2 x 8.6 mm, 183 grams
DISPLAY 6.4 inches, 1080 x 2300p (Full HD+), 399 ppi, IPS LCD 6.5 inches, 720 x 1600p (HD+), 270 ppi, IPS LCD 6.4 inches, 1080 x 2340p (Full HD+), 403 ppi, Super AMOLED
PROCESSOR Qualcomm Snapdragon 665, octa-core 2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 665, octa-core 2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 712, octa-core 2.3 GHz
MEMORY 4 GB RAM, 64 GB – micro SD slot 4 GB RAM, 128 GB – 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – micro SD dedicated slot  4 GB RAM, 64 GB – 6 GB RAM, 64 GB – 8 GB RAM, 128 GB – micro SD dedicated slot
SOFTWARE Android 10 Android 9 Pie, Color OS Android 9 Pie, Color OS
CONNECTIVITY Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5, GPS Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5, GPS  Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 5, GPS
CAMERA Quad 16 + 8 + 8 + 2 MP f/1.7, f/2.2, f/2.2 and f/2.2
16 MP f/2.0 front camera		 Quad 48 + 8 + 2 + 2 MP f/1.8, f/2.3, f/2.4 and f/2.4
16 MP f/2.0 front camera		 Quad 64 + 8 + 2 + 2 MP f/1.8, f/2.3, f/2.4 and f/2.4
16 MP f/2.0 front camera
BATTERY 5000 mAh, fast charging 18W 5000 mAh, battery charging 10W 4000 mAh, fast charging 20W
ADDITIONAL FEATURES Hybrid Dual SIM slot Dual SIM slot, reverse charging Dual SIM slot

Design

Moto G8 Power offers a more attractive design and even a better build quality, but personal tastes play an important role in this kind of choice. Moto G8 Power has a plastic back, but it is the only model to sport a sturdy aluminum frame (6000 series). Further, it is splash resistant and it has a futuristic punch-hole display instead of the usual and boring waterdrop notch. Realme XT comes with a glass back, but it has a plastic frame and it is not splash resistant. Oppo A9 2020 is entirely made of plastic except for the display. Motorola Moto G8 Power looks the most interesting one due to its aluminum frame and punch-hole display.

 

Display

The best panel is offered by the Realme XT: it is the only with an AMOLED display boasting more vivid colors and deeper blacks. And it delivers a Full HD+ resolution. The Realme XT even sports an in-display fingerprint reader which is not present on Moto G8 Power and Oppo A9 2020. Moto G8 Power takes the silver medal with a Full HD+ IPS panel. Oppo A9 2020 has a wider display, but it is inferior since it has a lower resolution and a lower level of detail (it is a 720p IPS panel). But this impacts positively on energy consumption.

 

Specs & Software

Realme XT provides the highest performance thanks to the Snapdragon 712 chipset which is an upgraded version of the Snapdragon 710 by Qualcomm. It is also the only with up to 8 GB of RAM, and it features UFS 2.1 internal storage. Oppo A9 2020 comes right after with Snapdragon 665 and up to 128 GB of UFS 2.1 storage. Moto G8 Power has an inferior hardware department, but it is the only to run Android 10 out of the box. On the other hand, Realme XT already received an update to Android 10 in the Indian market.

 

Camera

Besides having a better hardware side, Realme XT is also the device with the best camera department, although it is not a high-end camera phone. It has a rear quad-camera including a 64 MP main sensor able to shoot very detailed photos. But you should not underestimate the Moto G8 Power as it still comes with a pretty good 16 MP f/1.7 sensor and, unlike the Realme XT, it includes a telephoto lens supporting 2x optical zoom.

 

Battery

Moto G8 Power and Oppo A9 2020 come with a huge 5000 mAh battery. We believe Oppo A9 2020 will last more on a single charge due to its more efficient display (which comes with a lower resolution). Further, it supports reverse charging and it can be used as a power bank.

 

Price

Motorola launched the Moto G8 Power with a €249,99/$274 starting price, Oppo A9 2020 starts from €249/$272 and Realme XT starts from €259/$284. Moto G8 Power is a better device when it comes to the build quality, Oppo A9 2020 provides a longer battery life, but Realme XT is what power users would go for due to its AMOLED display and better hardware. There is not a perfect choice for everyone, it mostly depends on what you need more from a phone. That is why we will not pick a definitive winner of this comparison.

 

Motorola Moto G8 Power vs Oppo A9 2020 vs Oppo Realme XT: PROs and CONS

Motorola Moto G8 Power

PROs

  • Nice design and build quality
  • Splash resistant
  • Big battery
  • Stereo speakers
  • Telephoto lens
  • Android 10

CONS

  • Nothing particular

 

Oppo A9 2020

PROs

  • Amazing battery life
  • Reverse charging
  • Stereo speakers

CONS

  • HD display

 

Realme XT

PROs

  • Best display
  • NFC in the global variant
  • Best rear cameras
  • Best performance
  • Faster charging

CONS

  • Smaller battery

OnePlus 8 series will launch earlier this year and come in green

By
Habeeb Onawole
-

OnePlus usually has two phone launch events each year. The first is scheduled for the first half of the year while the second launch, for the T-series, is in the second half of the year. The launch in the first half of the year has actually been shifting upwards with last year’s OnePlus 7 series launching in May compared to the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 5 that were announced in June. This year’s OnePlus 8 series is expected to arrive even earlier.

OnePlus 8 Pro renders
OnePlus 8 Pro render

The news about the OnePlus 8 series launching early this year first surfaced last year when famed leaker, Steve Hemmerstoffer (@OnLeaks) revealed renders of the OnePlus 8. Now, new info that narrows the timeframe has surfaced.

According to Ishan Agarwal, the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro, and possibly the OnePlus 8 Lite too, will launch in late March or April. If this is true, OnePlus will be launching its 2020 flagships more than a month earlier than last year’s models.

There are a couple of advantages to this. First is that OnePlus fans don’t have to wait longer for a new phone to arrive when other manufacturers such as Huawei, Samsung, and Xiaomi have already launched their flagship phones since the first quarter of the year.

Another (possible) advantage is that the gap between the T-series can now be longer, unlike last year’s OnePlus 7T that was announced just four months after the OnePlus 7.

Apart from the phones launching earlier this year, the young leaker also revealed that the OnePlus 8 series will come in green. This will be an entirely new color variant never before seen on a OnePlus phone. OnePlus has steadily been playing with colors for a few years now. The OnePlus 5T and OnePlus 6 both launched in red while the OnePlus 6T was announced in Thunder Purple. Last year’s OnePlus 7 series launched in blue and we later saw a photo of a canceled gold variant of the OnePlus 7T.

While a new color variant will surely get fans excited, wireless charging support is actually what I look forward to seeing. This is a feature that has been long expected on a OnePlus phone and now it is set to debut on the OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro.

UP NEXT: OnePlus announces Concept One World Tour; coming to three cities in India

 

(Source)

Nubia All Set to Launch the Red Magic 5G at MWC 2020 with 144Hz refresh rate

By
Vinay Patel
-

Nubia is all set to announce its new gaming flagship phone at MWC 2020 called the Red Magic 5G. Aside from confirming the Red Magic 5G’s impending launch at MWC 2020, the Chinese smartphone maker has also hinted at numerous unique features including support for 80W fast charging and 144Hz display.

Nubia Red Magic 5G

The company’s President and co-founder, Mr. Ni Fei took to his personal Weibo account to share some posters. Mr. Ni Fei also touted the Red Magic 5G as the “world’s first 144Hz 5G gaming phone” in his post. Given that there is currently no other phone slated to offer a refresh rate of 144Hz, it looks like this claim is true.

It can be recalled that Nubia had already confirmed that its new phone will pack the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 SoC, which is capable of supporting a refresh rate of 144Hz at QHD+ resolution. Moreover, it is hardly surprising that the new phone supports 5G connectivity since Snapdragon X55 is the only modem compatible with the Snapdragon 865. There is a possibility that the phone comes with sub-6GHz 5G network support, though.

According to Mr. Ni Fei, the new Nubia-branded gaming phone will ship with LPDDR5 RAM, which works with Snapdragon 865’s memory controller. One of his recent revelations also suggests that the device will come with 80W wired fast charging support.

The USB-IF told AndroidPolice that the aforesaid charging rate (9.6A/8.4V) mentioned by Nubia is unsuitable for the USB Power Delivery specification, which means, Nubia has come up with its own charging solution. While such super-fast charging technology is known for gradually reducing the battery’s capacity, Mr. Ni Fei says the company solved the problem with the help of Red Magic 5G’s built-in fan that restricts the battery from overheating while it’s charging.

This not only ensures an improved battery life but also enables the battery to fast-charge for a longer duration and minimizes the charging time. There’s a chance Nubia could change its plan to attend the MWC 2020 citing the 2019-nCoV outbreak; however, more details about the Red Magic 5G are likely to surface online ahead of its scheduled launch.

UP NEXT: More Nubia Red Magic 5G phone’s specs leaks; has a 64MP camera

 

OPPO Reno3 Vitality Edition with SD765 now available for pre-order

By
Habeeb Onawole
-

OPPO has a new mid-range 5G smartphone and it is called the Reno3 Vitality Edition. This is practically the Reno3 5G with a Snapdragon 765 (not Snapdragon 765G) processor and a 48MP primary camera. The phone is now available for pre-order on OPPO’s online shop and the listing has all the details about the device.

OPPO Reno3 Vitality Edition featured

Reno3 Vitality Edition Design

The Reno3 Vitality Edition looks like the Reno3 5G. It has a flat display and a curved glass back and comes in three color variants. There is Streamer Gold, Moon Night Black, and Sky Mirror White. The phone is 7.96 millimeters thick and weighs 180 grams.

Reno3 Vitality Edition Specs and Features

The phone has a 6.4-inch FHD+ OLED display with a waterdrop notch and a 20:9 aspect ratio. OPPO says it has a third-generation fingerprint scanner.

The Reno3 Vitality Edition is powered by the Snapdragon 765 5G processor and it is paired with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of UFS 2.1 storage.

There are four rear cameras on the device. The first sensor is an 8MP ultrawide angle camera and it is followed by a 48MP f/1.7 primary camera. Next is a 2MP black and white portrait camera and another 2MP portrait style camera. The selfie camera is a 32MP f/2.0 sensor.

Reno3 Vitality Edition Camera

The Reno3 Vitality Edition runs ColorOS with features such as Link Boost 2.0 that combines 5G and WiFi networks together;  Hyper Boost which provides GPU performance boost, improves touch response and reduces lags while gaming; OPPO Wallet; and OPPO Cloud Service.

There is a 4025mAh battery under the hood with support for VOOC 4.0 (30W). It also has NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, and a USB Type-C port.

[envira-gallery id=”304494″]
Reno3 Vitality Edition Price

OPPO is charging ¥2999 for the phone, and if you pre-order it, you get a free pair of O-Fresh earphones and an extra 6 months of warranty. The pre-order page says the Reno3 Vitality Edition will be announced on February 14 at 10:00 AM.

UP NEXT: OPPO Find X2 to launch on February 22 in Barcelona

 

Xiaomi is launching the Xiaomi Mi 10 on Feb. 13 at an Online-Only Event

By
Vinay Patel
-

Xiaomi took to its official Weibo account to announce that the Chinese launch of its upcoming Mi 10 line will be on schedule on February 13; however, the unveiling event will be held online. The popular smartphone maker usually invites media to attend a press conference where it announces a flagship phone, but it looks like that will not be the case this time.

Xiaomi Mi 10

The online event is slated to kick off on February 13th – just two days after Samsung launches its Galaxy S20 series of smartphones in San Fransico. Regrettably, this means Xiaomi will not be the first phone maker to use Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 865 SoC, though neither does Samsung have this bragging right as ZTE had quietly launched the Axon 10s Pro that packs the SD865 platform before both the companies.

ZTE Axon 10s Pro
ZTE Axon 10s Pro

Keeping Xiaomi’s reputation for undercutting its competitors in mind, the Mi 10 series launch event will be nothing short of interesting, regardless of whether it is held online or offline. Aside from packing the Snapdragon 865 and LPDDR5 RAM provided by Samsung and Micron, some other details about the Mi 10 series have surfaced online.

If reports doing the rounds online are anything to go by, both devices could house 108MP main cameras at the back. Moreover, the Pro variant is tipped to come with 66W fast wired charging support. More shreds of information about the new devices are slated to surface on the web ahead of the February 13th event.

Some companies slated to attend the MWC 2020 are backing off from making an appearance at the impending exhibition citing the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak. Leading brands including NVIDIA, Ericsson, and LG have already pulled out of their hotly-anticipated attendance of the Mobile World Congress.

UP NEXT: Xiaomi Mi 10 series to go official on 23rd February in Barcelona

 

Realme VP shares specs of Realme X50 Pro 5G ahead of MWC launch

By
Habeeb Onawole
-

Yesterday, Realme confirmed it will be attending Mobile World Congress 2020. This will be the young smartphone maker’s first time attending one of the mobile industry’s biggest events and it plans to make a splash. One of the products it is expected to unveil is the Realme X50 Pro 5G, its first flagship phone of the year. Ahead of the launch, the company’s VP has shared a screenshot that reveals some of the phone’s key specs.

The screenshot was posted on Weibo this morning by Xu Qi Chase, the Vice President of Realme and President of Global Marketing. The screenshot confirms the device will launch as the Realme X50 Pro 5G.

The screenshot is from the about phone section of the device and it shows the device will run Realme UI version 1.0 based on Android 10. It will be powered by the Snapdragon 865 flagship processor with a Snapdragon X55 5G modem paired with it.

Realme X50 Pro 5G

The Realme X50 Pro 5G will have 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of storage. The storage is most probably non-expandable but we expect there will be other configurations available. The Realme X50 Pro 5G’s model number is also revealed as RMX2071 in the image and it is shown to have dual SIM support.

There are still a lot of unknown specs such as the screen size, type and resolution; the camera configuration; and the battery capacity. Nevertheless, these details may surface before the launch which is still a few weeks away.

Other than the phone, Realme has also confirmed that we will have an announcement at MWC about its first smart TV. We are not sure it will unveil the TV at the event as MWC isn’t really the place for TVs. What we expect we will get are more details about the TV and its eventual release date.

UP NEXT: The Realme C3 is a powerful and affordable budget phone for under $100

 

(Sources: 1, 2)

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